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SONNETS AND LYRICS 



L 



SONNETS 
AND LYRICS 



BY 



KATRINA TRASK 

Author of UNDER KING CONSTANTINE, 
JOHN LEIGHTON, JR., LESSONS IN LOVE, etc. 




Boston: 1903 

RICHARD G. BADGER 

T^he Gorham Press 



Copyright 1894 by Anson D. F. Randolph & Co., [Incorporated) 



Copyright 1 903 hy Richard G. Badger 



All Rights Reser-ved 

THE LIBRARY OF "^ 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

APR 13 1903 

Copyright Entry 

cuss Ct^ XXc. No 

COPY B. 









<£^, A 



?^ 



Third Edition 



Printed at 



'The Gorham Press 



Boston, U. S. A. 



TO MY MOTHER. 



Springes sec7'et had her nature caught, 

A II joy compelling; 
Her converse was with wisdom fraiight, 

And laughter welling. 

The circle of her daily life 

Was sweetly human; 
As friend, as mother, and as wife. 

She was all wofnan. 

With these rare charms she did combi^ie 

A Christ-like power ; 
Transfused with His dear grace divine, 

Love was her dower. 



CONTENTS. 



Sonnets. 

Page 

Thy love is like an armor for my soul ...... 13 

Between the Shadows of the Night Love came ... 14 

As I beheld Love's lambent wings outspread .... 15 

Behold, I saw a burning furnace 16 

Iseult to Tristram 17 

My Love, this evening hour I stand confessed . . . 18 

I wander in the desert of this world 19 

In darkened upper chamber, on her bier 20 

I longed for Thee, O Christ, to be my guest .... 21 

O Love supreme, when is thy greatest bliss .''.... 22 



Sorrow 

Love .... 

Paolo to Francesca 



........... 23 

24 

• • • • • 25 

Look in my eyes, my Love, and say good-bye .... 26 

Yea, — inasmuch as thou art brave to fight .... 27 

The lady sat in her vine-clad tower ....... 31 



Revelation 



34 



Three Hours .. o . .0 .,,.... 37 



My Lover's Bower .......-••••• 39 

To a Pessimist -41 

When we have done the best we can ....... 43 

No one may know Vvfhat the crimson rose ..... 45 

After the Storm 46 

Spring 47 

Autumn .......••••••••• 49 

Heaven is mirrored Love, deep in thine eyes .... 51 

Our hearts are full of sin .......... 52 

And has it been for this, my Love — the sheaves ? . • S3 

O foolish soul, why should you now assail ..... 54 

Courage, O heart! ......•••■•■• 55 

If 56 

Who can fill a chalice ....•...••• 58 

Calm is the peaceful night .......-■• 59 

Thine eyes, so true, shine on me, dear ...... 60 

It has been dark so long! .......... 61 

Love reaches to the infinite ........•• 62 

Lo ! in the dome of the sky ......... 63 

Lie down and sleep 64 

The purple mountains, on whose crest ...... 65 

To Ben Jonson 66 

My feet are sandalled with Love ........ 68 

My spirit is free 69 

A Woman's Confession . 70 

At Last 72 

Fellovirship ............••• 73 

To a Poet ............... 75 



Rejoice 76 

" Darling, darling," a bird is calling ....... 11 

Renunciation • • 79 

Brunhilde 8o 

Speech and Silence 8i 

Trust 82 

Morning 83 

Emancipation .............. 86 

Quatrains ..,.,....... = .. 88 

€;0ntra0ts. 

A fair young mother bends, and gaily laughs .... 91 

My friend is near me now, so near 92 

City and Country • • • • 93 

She sits, with grief too deep for tears 94 

A man and woman steeped in ecstasy ...... 95 

Wringing white hands in passionate despair . . , , 96 

The night is still ; a faint perfume ....... 97 

^oint of Ut£iD. 

The Sea ..... . . . loi 

Night ........■•••••••• I"" 

The Pines ........•»••••• i°3 



SONNETS. 



T^HY love is like an armor for my soul, 

A burnished armor glitteringly white, 
Irradiating all my path with light. 
Naught now can vanquish me ; e'en pain and dole 
Disturb me not. Swift, well-aimed arrows roll 
In impotency from my armor bright; 
I have been made invulnerable, no knight 
E'er had a stronger harness, yet no stole, 
Embroidered with Christ's cross, was ever worn 
With holier reverence. Now to God be praise ! 
Darkness and danger bring no fear to me ; 
My soul, thus shielded, will not be o'erborne, 
But calm, serene, through peril's devious ways, 
Equipped with Love, may walk triumphantly. 



t3 



"DETWEEN the shadows of the night Love came 
Straight from God's self — His own ambas- 
sador. 
Shining he stood, with lambent wings astir ; 
My barren room from that bright form of flame 
Glowed with effulgence ; soft he spake my name, 
"What would you have that Love may now 

confer ? " 
" Grant me," I cried, " O mighty Almoner, 
My lover's presence ; that again the same 
Rose-ladened, rapture-freighted hours may hold 
My lover with me in a spell of bliss, 
Where every breath is fragrant with a kiss." 
Love with a look divine of holy fire 
And yearning pity did my soul enfold ; 
" Farewell," he said, " I was not named Desire." 

14 



II. 

S I beheld Love's lambent wings outspread 
To leave me, all my spirit rose and cried, 
" Stay, Love immortal, I am satisfied 
With thy completeness, though I be unfed 
With thy blest sacramental gifts. O shed 
Thy glory in my soul ; what is denied 
I here resign. If thou art by my side, 
I will not ask for rapture." On my head 
Love, stooping, laid his hands of Christ-like balm ; 
Swift through my being flowed a strength unknown, 
Deep in my heart there sprang a joy intense. 
Soft on my spirit fell a thrilling calm ; 
Love passed ; and I lay bathed — although alone — 
In a glad bliss more rapturous than of sense. 



15 



TOEHOLD, I saw a burning furnace, red 

With heat intense ; and in its vivid glow 
A human soul, unclayed ; first did I know 
O'erwhelming fear; then straightway felt instead 
Most wondering sorrow; for the lustre shed 
Upon the soul I thought as pure as snow, 
Showed dross, impurity, — Ah, bitter woe. 
To mc who loved so well ! I should have fled 
From the revcalment, had a strange control 
Not held me, as the purging fire burned on. 
In yearning anguish, " Spare the pain ! " I cried ; 
But naught was spared, until from that loved soul 
All the impurity and dross were gone ; 
Then for new life it came forth purified. 



i6 



ISEULT TO TRISTRAM. 

^T^RISTRAM, my life's one only Love, your 

queen, — 
While banished from her sight you roam alone, — 
A weary exile sits upon her throne, 
Bedecked in pearl-strewn samite, glinting sheen 
Of diamond glows bright like stars between 
The curls your dear caressing lips have known ; 
But all the while her aching heart makes moan, 
Beneath the courtly homage, when serene 
And proud she smiles with royal grace above 
Her kneeling subjects, as becomes her state. 

Tristram, Tristram, would that I might be 
My fortune's arbitress ; in truth, my Love, 

1 would but claim this single boon of fate, — 
To wander forth a beggar-maid with thee. 

2 

n 



Y Love, this evening hour I stand confessed. 
When I recall these magic woods, which ring 
With songs of homeward-flocking birds that sing 
Sweet lullabys to fledglings in the nest ; 
The opalescent gates that in the west 
Part to receive the passing day, and fling 
A crimson glory forth ; — remembering 
The myriad marvels, I will count this best. 
Of sights, of music, flowers, and singing birds, 
Of beauties manifold, which gird us round, — 
Earth's bloom below, heaven's radiance above, — 
Best will I count your life-revealing words 
Which in my ears forevermore shall sound, 
" Light of my soul, I love you, O my Love." 



iS 



T WANDER in the desert of this world, 

See God's effulgence for a moment's space 
On some Mount Sinai, then come face to face 
With altars to the Golden Calf. Thus hurled 
From holy heights, my soul in depths is whirled ; 
Yea, from the Blessed swiftly to the base. 
Ah ! 'tis a desolate and barren place ; 
My heart is weary ; — but, behold ! unfurled 
Before me floats a fleecy cloud of light, 
A roseate pillar through the toiling day, 
Illumining the desert's arid sand ; 
And, lo ! a vivid guiding flame by night. 
'T is Love that goes before me on my way, 
And leads me onward to the Promised Land, 



19 



N darkened upper chamber, on her bier, 
Lay Hope, arrayed for burial ; asphodel 
And rosemary bedecked her pall, that fell 
In straight black folds. Standing in silence near 
Was Memory, with eyes as azure clear 
As Heaven, but keen and haunting as deep Hell; 
At the sad sounding of the slow death knell, 
Anon in frenzied haste ran frantic Fear, 
And rosy Love, his glad voice hushed and low, 
His torch inverted, paused to linger there 
By my dead Hope. I stood apart with Woe ; 
Then to my side came gaunt and grim Despair. 
" Fear not to be companionless," she said, 
" Lo ! I will share your dwelling in her stead." 



LONGED for Thee, O Christ, to be my guest, 
To break the bread, and pour the Hving wine, 
All consecrated, in this home of mine, 
That my poor soul and spirit might be blessed. 
Perchance I called Thee not enough ; confessed 
My yearning want too seldom at Thy shrine. 
To bring Thy presence, glorious, divine. 
Thou for these many years hast thought it best 
That I should wait. There came instead to me 
Remorseless Death, whose ruthless besom swept 
My fireside empty ; then apart I crept, 
Alone beneath the shadow, — ah, but see ! 
I raise my head my barren home to mark, 
And Thou, O Christ, art standing in the dark. 



LOVE supreme, when is thy greatest bhss? 

My soul grows faint remembering the sight 
And inspiration of thy dear dehght, 
The revelation of thy perfect kiss, 
Where the completeness that my soul did miss 
Beforetime, seemed my heritage by right. 
Standing to judge of Love upon Love's height, — 
Now my familiar home, tho' dark abyss 
Long sheltered me, — I count it greatest when 
The rising tide of throbbing harmony 
Sweeps through the senses with a sudden rush 
To climax of Love's rapture ; then again 
I know that sweeter than aught else to me, 
Is the tense silence of Love's breathless hush. 



SORROW. 

THORN-CROWNED Sorrow, pitiless and 

stern, 

I sit alone, with broken heart, my head 
Low bowed, keeping long vigil with my dead. 
My soul, unutterably sad, doth yearn 
Beyond relief in tears — they only burn 
My aching eyelids to fall back unshed 
Upon the throbbing brain like molten lead, 
Making it frenzied. Shall I ever learn 
To face you fearlessly, as by my door 
You stand with haunting eyes and death-damp hair, 
Through the night-watches, whispering solemnly, 
" Behold, I am thy guest forevermore." 
It chills my soul to know that you are there. 
Great GOD, have mercy on my misery ! 



LOVE. 

POWER of Love, O wondrous mystery ! 

How is my dark illumined by thy light, 
That maketh morning of my gloomy night. 
Setting my soul from Sorrow's bondage free 
With swift-sent revelation ; yea, I see 
Beyond the limitation of my sight 
And senses, comprehending now, aright. 
To-day's proportion to Eternity. 
Through thee, my faith in God is made more sure, 
My searching eyes have pierced the misty veil ; 
The pain and anguish which stern Sorrow brings. 
Through thee become more easy to endure. 
Love-strong I mount, and Heaven's high summit 

scale ; 
Through thee, my soul has spread her folded wings. 



24 



PAOLO TO FRANCESCA. 

T7RANCESCA MIA, in the purple air 

That whirls us onward in our fatal woe, 
Your soulful love-lit eyes, that ever grow, 
Beneath the shadow of your wind-blown hair, 
More doleful with vast sorrow you must bear. 
Make my heart melt in agonizing flow 
Of penitential tears ; for well I know 
That I have brought you to this deep despair. 
You would have been in Heaven, a blessed saint, 
Save that you gave me your unbounded love, 
And, spotless, innocent, all free from taint. 
Came to my bosom like a guileless dove, 
For shelter. Gracious God ! you trusted me ; 
I dragged you down to Hell and misery. 



25 



T OOK in my eyes, my Love, and say good bye — 

^^ Love is not love save it hath made us strong 

To meet stern duties, that remorseless throng 

For doing. Men may fail, but you and I 

Should be invincible to live, or die ; 

To wage firm battle against sin and wrong; 

To wait — that's hardest, dear — however long, 

For joys withheld, and God to answer why ; 

To banish yearning hope if it be vain ; 

To say good bye, if we must parted be. 

Had we but /la/f loved, then we might complain 

Parting were murdered possibility; 

But loving, O my Love, so perfectly, 

We are beyond the touch of any pain. 



26 



"XrEA, — inasmuch as thou art brave to fight 

Victorious battle against sin and wrong, 
And, still despite the miseries that throng. 
To walk serenely in God's holy light, 
Teaching the ignorant the ways of right, 
Turning the dirge of life into a song 
Triumphant; inasmuch as thou art strong, 
Purehearted, steadfast, — thou shalt be my knight. 
Arise, go forth unto the waiting field. 
And hurl the evil low into the dust. 
Now may the sign by all men known be this. 
My love for thee shall be thy guarding shield. 
Thine armor shall be brightened by my trust, 
Thine accolade shall be my royal kiss. 



LYRICS. 



'T^HE lady sat in her vine-clad tower, 

Her face was fair as a dew-washed flower; 

The great oaken door was barred and fast, 
And she smiled aloof as all men passed, 

" I yield me not until I discover, 

For my heart's giving, a perfect lover." 

At dawn, one sued her with subtle brain, 
To grant him guerdon. He sued in vain. 

"Yea," she made answer, " I yield me in part; 
But what should I do with my throbbing heart.? " 

At sunrise, a passionate lover came. 
And offered his heart of burning flame. 

"Ah, yea," she said, " I might yield to thee; 

But alas ! alas ! for the soul in me." 

31 



As the sun waxed high, 'neath her casement stole 
A bashful pilgrim, and offered his soul. 

"Yea, this is highest and best," she said; 
" But my mind and body would faint, unfed." 

Then she smiled and fast barred the tower door, 
" I will never yield ; I watch no more." 

But, lo ! o'er the hills, at the earth's high noon, 
Swift came a lover with love triune. 

He looked in her eyes, and she was aware 
That the lord of her body was standing there ; 

He challenged her mind, and quick was she 
To bow her own to his mastery ; 

He lifted on high his blossoming rod. 
And wooed her soul in the name of God. 

Myrrh and spikenard and frankincense sweet 
Dropped in the way of her hurrying feet. 

32 



The fast-barred door was thrown open wide, 
And the lover sprang to the lady's side. 

The light of love dawned glad on her face, 
And she whispered low, with an eager grace : 

" Because thou art crowned with the threefold 

power, 
I come to thine arms from my fast-barred tower." 



33 



REVELATION. 

np'O be made akin to the wonderful earth, 

Engirdled with cestus of azure around; 
To know all her secrets of life, and of birth, 
Of fragrance and fruitage, of vision and sound, — 
Is the mystical sweetness 
From Love's all completeness. 

To swoon with the spell of her deep-folding dark, 
To tremble with hope when a new day is born, 
To awake, and sing with the carolling lark, 
To blush with the beauty of her rosy morn, — 
Is the mystical szvcctness 
From Loves all completeness. 

To welcome the breeze as it blows to greet you, 
As soft as it might be the breath of a kiss ; 

34 



To watch for the tide as it rolls to meet you, 
And throb with remembered and prescient bliss, — 
Is tJie mystical sweetness 
From Love's all-completeness. 

To be swayed by the song that the pine-trees sing 
To the heart of your heart, harmonious, clear ; 
To have day and night from their hid treasures bring 
What those who have loved not, ne'er see and 

ne'er hear, — 
Is the mystical sivectness 
From Love's all-completeness. 

To joy and exult in the wild winds that make 
A measureless music abroad in the land ; 
To watch the mad white-crested waves as they break, 
And their passionate murmur to understand, — 
Is tJie mystical sweetness 
From Love's all-completeness. 

35 



To feel the soul suddenly thrill with a glow 
Of power to see beyond death's dusky portal ; 
With surety stronger than logic, to know 
That God is the Lord, and the soul is immortal, 
Is the mystical sweet7iess 
From Love's all-completeness. 



3& 



THREE HOURS. 



E comes! my bliss-remembering heart sends 
fire 
Swift through my veins where blood was wont to 

flow. 
Enwrapped in joyous soaring soul-desire, 
Down fragrant paths where welcoming roses growj 
I speed, my love to meet, 
With winged feet. 

II. 

He leaves me desolate, my eyes grow dim, 
My rebel heart denies the natural boon 
Of life-flow to my veins ; he took with him 
My spirit as he went ; I faint, I swoon, 
His name I breathe for breath. 
And long for death. 

37 



III. 
A mighty Voice speaks through the night to me, 
" Is it for this I gave thee wondrous gift, 
That in the shadow thou shouldst poorer be? 
Hath love, revealed, no power to uplift? 
Thou hast received ; now give — 
Arise and live ! " 



38 



MY LOVER'S BOWER. 

Y Love, of all men, knovveth best 
How well to weave a web complete, 
Of intermingled love and rest, 
With passion's power replete. 
For the day, and the hour, 
He led me to his vine-clad Bozver, 
And tvove for me a rapture sweet. 

It was, forsooth, a magic place, 
A covert from all storms that beat, 
A mystic woof of light and grace, 
A shade from noontide's heat. 
And O the day, and O the hour. 
He took vie to that vine-clad Bower, 
And tvove for me a rapture siveet. 

It lay upon a fruitful hill, 
Crimson roses, and golden wheat ! 
39 



The sunlight fell serene and still; 
The sands of Time ran fleet. 
For O the day, and O the Jiour, 
He led Die to his vine-clad Bower, 
And wove for me a rapture sweet. 

Far was it from the busy throng, 
In sheltered, forest-hid retreat; 
A crystal brook with laughing song, 
Ran by a rose-hung seat. 
And O the day, and O the honr, 
He led nie to that vine-elad Bower, 
And wove for me a rapttire sweet. 

Low cooed an opal-crested dove 

Her wooing mate, returned, to greet; 

Beneath a panoply of love, 

Unveiled, our souls did meet. 

For O tJie day, and O the honr, 

He took me to his vine-clad Bower, 

And wove for me a rapture sweet. 
40 



TO A PESSIMIST. 

TTUSH ! Do not dare 
^^ Add to the load 
Your brother must bear 
As he toils up the road. 

The way is bleak, 
Hard, at the best; 
Perchance he is weak, 
Did he stand confessed. 

Can he rejoice? 

Then God be praised ; 

Ah ! why should your voice, 

To mock him, be raised? 
41 



Holds he on high 
His lamp of trust? 
Beware how you try 
To quench it with dust ! 

If, through the night, 
No lamp you take ; 
Then guard well Jiis light, 
For Jesus Christ's sake. 



42 



TT THEN we have done the best we can 

To help uphft our fellow-man, 
To ease his load of care and sin, 
Ah ! then, perchance, we may begin 
All human nature to deplore, — 
But not before ! 

When we have studied, night and day, 

A better and a surer way 

To purge the State of wrong and crime, 

Ah ! then, perchance, it may be time 

To sit at home, with idle hand, 

And mourn the land. 

When we have prayed with trusting mind, 
And in our life no answer find ; 
43 



When we have done His utmost will, 
And yet are left in darkness still ; 
Then carping doubt we may express 
But not unless. 



44 



"VTO one may know what the crimson rose 

Whispers to me alone, 
As its leaves unfold 
From its heart of gold, — 
Nay, nay, it is all unknown. 
Save to me and the deep red rose, 
The rarest flower that grows. 

No one may know what the crimson rose, 

As it hides in my breast, 

Adown from the cold, 

Is silently told, — 

Nay, nay, it is unconfessed, 

Save to me and the deep red rose, 

The fairest flower that blows. 



45 



AFTER THE STORM. 

^ARK files of fleece-edged clouds, that move 
and break 

To show clear azure through the sombre gray; 
Tall tufts of crystal-beaded grass, that shake 
Their heads in wind-tossed dances ; far away 
The empurpled hills glow to the wooing sun, 
Which floods the world, — the stress of storm is 
done. 

Perched on a pine-tree, near my window-pane. 
An oriole is swinging by his nest; 
Bright from the freshness of the glistening rain, 
Gleams the gold plumage of his shining breast; 
He tilts and sways in joyousncss on high, 
And sings his heart out to the clearing sky. 



46 



SPRING. 

f\ WONDERFUL, sun-crowned, perfect Day ! 

^-^ O fairest, flowering month of May ! 

O redolent Spring, benign, supernal, 

Thou art the symbol of Life Eternal ! 

The silent Earth, so grim, so bare. 

Seems dead, as cold she lieth there, 

So long close-locked in icy sleep ; 

Thou comest, Spring, and she doth leap 

To vivid life. Her throbbing breast, 

Where late the snowy pall did rest, 

A larger, hidden life hath kept 

Through all the winter while she slept. 

Now, her myriad ways are a mystic maze 

Of beauty's bloom, and rare perfume; 

Her woodlands sad are fragrantly glad ; 

47 



And birds, on the wing, carol gayly, and sing 

To the beautiful Spring 

A welcoming roundelay. 

O wonderful, sun-crowned, perfect Day ! 

O fairest, flowering month of May ! 

O Spring, thou art the proof to me 

Of my Soul's immortality. 



48 



AUTUMN. 

T^ANK leaves in storm-soaked, undertrodden 

mass, 
Make a wet pathway for my feet to tread 
Between the soughing trees; the rain-drops shed 
Their sullen damp defiance on my head, 
As through the woodland bare I onward pass. 

Between the parted branches of the pines. 
The stretch of sky shows long above my way 
A dull monotony of leaden gray. 
That makes the full, high noontide of the day 
A shadowed twilight ; a soft mist entwines 

Grim tree-trunks, brown with a forbidding gloom ; 
The sere moss settles earthward drearily ; 
The serpentine gnarled root of a dead tree 
Appears to live and writhe in misery ; 
The sodden world is but a sombre tomb. 
4 49 



Vanished are all the happy summer things; 
Here in the rain-washed woodland all is still 
Save the harsh murmur of the rippling rill, 
That wanders from the leaf-stripped, barren hill, 
And cawing of a crow, that flaps black wings. 

Thus, it is autumn over all the earth, — 

But not within my heart, which keeps the glow 

Of a remembered summer, as I go 

Beneath the shadow, and the joy to know 

That with the spring will come a glad new birth. 



SO 



AIDENN. 

TTEAVEN is mirrored Love, deep in thine eyes, 
Soft falls its shimmering light upon thy face; 
Tell me, Beloved, is this Paradise, 
Or but Love's bower in some deep-sheltered place? 

Is that God's burning bush that now appears, 
Or but the sunlight slanting through the trees? 
Is that sweet song the music of the spheres, 
Or but the deep andante of the breeze ? 

Are we blest spirits of some glad new birth 
Floating at last in God's eternity? 
Or art thou, Love, still but a man on earth. 
And I a woman clinging- close to thee? 



SI 



kUR hearts are full of sin, 
And when we look within, 
We shudder at the sight, — 
They are as dark as night. 

The Christ is full of love, 
And when we look above, 
Our darkened hearts grow white, 
Bathed in His holy light. 

We know this true ; and yet 
We, day by day, forget 
To lift our earth-bound eyes 
Where cleansing power lies ! 



S2 



" A ND has it been for this, my Love — the 

sheaves? 
Have all the dewy moon-lit starry eves ; 
The gathered fragrance from the myriad ways 
Of all the flowering sun-steeped joyous days ; 
The seasons that their fruitful courses ran, 
In changing splendor, since our life began; 
Been tending only, my sweet Love, to this, — ■ 
The goal supreme of your full perfect kiss? " 

"Nay, Dear! not so," she answered, rapturously; 
" No kiss, that is its own finality, 
Would be replete with bliss divine as ours. 
The highest joy comes but from highest powers. 
Most freighted with life's fulness, who have met 
At last, — no petty brook nor rivulet 
Meeting a pool ; but a full-tided sea, 
Commingling with an ocean deep and free." 

53 



FOOLISH Soul, why should you now assail 
Your long-time creed, because weak mortals 
fail? 
If you have sought a just and righteous man, 
Fulfilling well the Infinite's great plan, 
And, searching earnestly, have failed to see one, 
Despair not, — vindicate your creed, and be one. 



54 



r^OURAGE,0 heart! 

O fainting soul ! 
Measure not part, 
Compass the whole. 

Dark falls the night? 
Be not o'erborne ; 
The morrow brings light, 
Think on the morn. 

Dim grows the day, 
Under a shroud? 
Have no dismay, 
'T is but a cloud. 

Thou must be laid 
Down 'neath the sod? 
Be not afraid. 
After — comes God. 
55 



IF. 

,H, never a lover shall win or subdue me ! 
No ! not though he flatter, and seek, and 
pursue me, 
Howe'er he may strive to o'ercorae me and take me, 
Howe'er he may woo me, he never can make me 
Forego my resolve to be free in my flight, 
To keep the winged mystery of my delight. 
For why should I stoop from the realms I can scan. 
To be the belonging of self-seeking man? 

But, ah ! if a god should bend down to me, 

love me, — 
A being my soul bowed before, as above me, 
With infinite wisdom to well- comprehend me. 
With measureless love to protect and defend me 

S6 



From perilous storms in my own wayward soul, 
With masterful touch, and a perfect control, 
With the power to sway me deep down in his eyes. 
And patience to wait for love's full tide to rise, — 

Ah ! then, I would grant me, unbend me, and 
yield me, 

Enraptured with power found fitting to wield me; 

I naught would withhold 'neath the spell he cast 
o'er me ; 

My spirit would sway, when his spirit o'erbore me, 

As the tree's branches sway when swept by the 
breeze, 

To the rhythmical sound of their own harmonies; 

I would yield with a lavishness born of complete- 
ness ; 

I would fold my wings close, and surrender to 
sweetness. 



57 



Tl 7H0 can fill a chalice 

^^ That is full; try to hold 
Flowers in hands clutching dross and gold? 
If with selfishness and malice 
All our hearts be full of sin, 
How may we ask the Lord to enter in? 



/^^AUA is the peaceful night, the ambient air 
^■"^ Stirs through the tree-tops with low melody 
Upon the hills a halo lingers, where 
Has sunk the moon, serene and silvery. 
Leaving naught, now, but subtle light of stars. 
O my Star, stronger than the mighty Mars, 
Here by thy side my prisoned self is free ; 
For in night's silence and immensity. 
Souls, steeped in Love's divinest mystery, 
Feel that they touch their immortality. 



59 



'T^HINE eyes, so true, shine on me, dear 

In visions of the ebon night; 
My spirit feels that tliine is near, 
I murmur, " It is morning-hght." 



I waken to the sun-bright day. 
My chamber is aglow with light ; 

I whisper, " He is far away," 

And then I know that it is nigrht. 



60 



TT has been dark so long ! I cannot bear 

The darkness longer; in my bosom, where 
Joy dwelt of old, and in my room once fair, 
Is silent desolation ; the still air 
Is dense with darkness ; in my wild despair 
I fling my window open to the night, — 
And in the East, behold, the dawn of light ! 



6t 



T OVE reaches to the infinite. To-day 
"^ I love you to the uttermost; you sway 
My spirit by your subtle power, — yea 
I yield me wholly, love you far above 
All that has been. Ah ! Dear, that is to-day. 
To-morrow, as before, my soul will say. 
In very truth, as yet I know not love ; 
Only the love of loving, and the larger thirst 
For infinite revealing, eager as at first. 



1 O ! in the dome of the sky, 
^^ Glimmers a tremulous star; 
I follow it from afar, 
To find where it swings on high, 
A world. 

Lo ! in the depths of thine eyes. 
Shimmers a nebulous light ; 
I follow it day and night. 
And find, to my soul's surprise, 
My world. 



63 



T IE down and sleep. 

Leave it with God to keep 
This sorrow which is part 
Now of your heart. 
When you awake, 
If still 'tis there to take, 
Utter no wild complaint, 
Work waits your hands. 
If you should faint, 
God understands. 



64 



nnHE purple mountains, on whose crest, 

High-banked, are clouds of sombrous shade, 
As lo ! the day dies in the west, 
In lofty calm, loom unafraid. 

When deep the twilight shadow lies 
Upon their summits, still they stand, 

Unruffled by the darkening skies, 
Steadfast, and undisturbedly grand. 

So I would calmly let my soul, 

In sight of God undaunted lie, 
With tranquil and serene control 

Meeting what comes, nor asking why; 

Having no tremor of dismay. 

When thunderous storm-clouds threaten doom ; 
Unmindful of the dying day, 

Unmoved by the approaching gloom. 

5 6s 



TO BEN JONSON. 

r^HARIS boasted God did make her: 
^^ But, O Ben, if you will take her 
Where God's light can on her fall, 
You will find He made not all. 
There was much of frill and purl, 
Much of crisped hair and curl, 
Which were added at her glass ; 
And, to heart and soul, alas ! 
Sooth I fear there entered in 
Many a folly, many a sin, 
Petty snare of worldly fashion, 
Selfish lust, and empty passion, — 
Yea, I am full sore afraid 
God's first work was overlaid 



With the errors of the Court, 

By the House of Stuart brought. 

If your Charis were unspoiled, 

And by Mammon not entoiled, 

Why were titles and French ways 

To be had ere she would praise? 

Why were they the first desired 

In the lover she required ? 

Would you know, O curious Ben, 

What true women want in men? 

Only titles that are won 

By some act which they have done ; 

Only manners that impart 

Knowledge of their source — the heart. 



67 



"I /fY feet are sandalled with Lovej 

"■^-^ Making them fleet; 

I breathe but Love for my breath, 

Finding it sweet. 
Love's ichor flows in my veins, 

Keeping me strong ; 
And I speed on my way, 

Singing a song 
To the beautiful earth 

And the stars above, — = 
A song anti phonal, 

Of love, of love. 



68 



Y spirit is free 

As the tossing sea ; 
My moods make my tides, 
And nothing besides 
Can draw me or stay me, 
Can calm me or sway me. 
I come and I go 
To the ebb and the flow 
Of my own desire ; 
But my heart of fire 
And passion I keep 
Deep hidden, down deep, 
Where no one can find it, 
And no one can bind it. 

My heart and my love are as boundlessly free 
As the shimmering, shining, sapphire sea. 

69 



A WOMAN'S CONFESSION. 

^\7^ES, kiss me, Beloved ! 
-^ I yield to your lips ; 
But my spirit slips 
Away from your touch, 
If you kiss overmuch. 

Yes, hold me, Beloved ! 
I feel your control ; 
But my wayward soul 
Takes wings, fleet and strong, 
If you hold me too long. 

Ah ! kiss me, Beloved ! 
But find a new way, 
A more subtle play 
To arouse and awake 
Me to want what you take. 
70 



Ah ! hold me, Beloved ! 
But most by a spell, 
That I may not tell 
Why I stay, nor yet know 
How I ever could so. 



71 



AT LAST. 

"OEYOND the bourn of mortal death and birth, 

Two lovers — parted sorrowing on earth — 
Met in the land of dim and ghostly space. 
Wondering, he gazed on her illumined face; 
" Alone you bear the burden, now," he said, 
" Of bondage ; mine is ended, — I am dead." 
With rapturous note of victory, she cried, 
" The Lord of Life be praised ! I, too, have died.' 



ti 



FELLOWSHIP. 

T is the bourgeoning month of May, 
And lissome Spring now cometh her way, 
TraiHng her dainty garments of green 
The blossoming, low-drooped boughs between; 
The birds sing blithe to greet her. 
The violets haste to meet her; 
Earth smileth with gay delight, 
And spreadeth a carpet bright ; 
The glad Sun laugheth with golden glee 
To see Spring passing over the lea. 

She glideth on o'er the tender grass ; 
I wait in the way that she must pass, 
Until, as she pauseth where I stand, 
She stretcheth forth her fragrant hand, 

73 



Her dewy lips allure me, 

Her azure eyes assure me, 

Of a fellowship complete ; 

In musical cadence sweet, 

She murmureth, " Thou of Spring art part; 

Love blossoms to fruitage in thine heart." 



74 



TO A POET. 

'' I^HOU who hast seen behind the mystic veil 
The goal that lies beyond the weary way. 
Stay not to tell a melancholy tale, 
To please the ear of fancy for a day; 
Oh, be not thou a crier of thy time, 
Who chants the dirges of sad monotone. 
Arise ! Translate the message, thou alone 
Within thy soul hast heard, into thy rhyme ; 
Infuse the world with harmony sublime ; 
Show toiling mortals, girt by pain and strife, 
An undimmed vision of the Truth — the Life. 
Thus shalt thou be a Seer, and so fulfil 
The glory of thy mission, and God's will. 



n 



REJOICE. 

SHINING, glistening, sparkling sea, 

Where white waves rise and swell ; 
O murmuring brook and swaying tree, 

Where wedded song-birds dwell ; 
O rose and violet growing free, 

Down in the mossy dell; 
O flowering Earth, — all things that be, 

Rejoice, my soul is well ! 
My Love has told his love to me, — 

My Love who loves unfalterignly. 
My Love whose matchless love for me 

Will beat throughout Eternity, 



76 



1~\ARLING, darling," a bird is calling, 
'^ Over the hill and over the lea, 
" The sun has risen, the dew ceased falling, 
Darling, come back to me." 



"Darling, darling," the violet is weeping, - 
A tear deep-down in its heart I see, — 

" My lonely tryst I still am keeping. 
Darling, come back to me." 

" Darling, darling," the wind is singing, 
Blowing all welcoming, fresh and free, 

" Where is thy musical laughter ringing? 
Darling, come back to me." 
77 



" Darling, darling," the brook is saying, 
Merrily winding down to the sea, 

" Come, Oh, come, I am lone at playing, 
Darhng, come back to me." 

"Darling, darling," the light is gliding 

In and out from tree to tree, 
Trying to find where thou art hiding, 

" Darling, come back to me," 

Darling, darling, my heart is yearning. 
What is the summer bereft of thee? 

Day has no dawn, the night no turning, 
Darling, come back to me. 



RENUNCIATION. 

npHIRSTING and panting for the luscious wine, 

I drew my breath in, and I tasted — brine. 
The cup that I had waited for these years 
Was in my hand, I Hfted it on high ; 
But, ere I quaffed, I firmly laid it by. 
And drank, instead, my own salt, bitter tears» 



BRUNHILDE. 

13 INGED by protective fire, the Walkyr lay, 
Immaculate, unmoved. As golden day 
Slow followed day, the immortal maid did keep 
The unconscious love-watch of her virgin sleep. 

Lo ! to her side her daring hero came, 
And to her soul, sleep-folded, straight he spoke; 
Then more aglow than all her guarding flame, 
Walhalla's maid a throbbing woman woke. 



8c- 



SPEECH AND SILENCE. 

/^~~^OME with me, Love, O come ! 

^-^ Where the purple violet dwelleth, 

Where the crystal water welleth, 

Where the wind-blown wild-rose groweth. 

Where the deer to cover goeth, 

Down in the tangled dell ; 

There are secrets sweet to tell. 

Come with me. Love, O come ! 
Where the crimson sunlight lieth, 
Where the soaring eagle flieth. 
Where the storied air soft ringeth, 
To the height that vision bringeth 
Of each golden sphere on sphere ; 
There are mystic things to hear. 

8i 
6 



TRUST. 

'T^HE quiet river glideth to the sea; 

The silent planets, in the spacious sky. 
Move on to their celestial destiny, 
Each in its orbit, faithful ; and shall I 
Fail to fulfil the purpose planned for me? 
I know, however dark the way may be, 
It leads me on to some vast mystery, 
Some good supreme, for all Eternity. 



82 



MORNING. 



''T^HE deep-shadowed night has passed away, 

I look abroad on the bhthesome day ; 
The dew-fresh Earth is so wondrous fair 
That my heart leaps high with praise and prayer 



TJie World is awake, the San is aflame, 
O hallowed be God's Holy name. 



The morning-glories are spangled with dew, 
The fleece-flecked sky is a vivid blue ; 
The bright-eyed daisies spring from the grass, 
And, smiling, nod as I onward pass; 

The World is awake, the Sun is aflame^ 
O hallowed be God' s Holy name. 

81 



The yellow wheat waves gay in the field ; 
The roses blush with a joy concealed ; 
The shimmering brook leaps lightly by ; 
The silent pond is another sky ; 

The World is awake ^ the Sun is aflame, 
O hallowed be God's Holy name. 



The golden butterflies glint and gleam 

As they sport in the path of a slanting beam ) 

The bees buzz busily here and there ; 

The chirping crickets are everywhere ; 

The World is aiuakc, the Sun is aflame, 
O hallowed be God's Holy name. 



84 



Each pine a mystery proudly stands, 
The Httle hills, laughing, clap their hands; 
The mightier mountains, one by one, 
Rise in their beauty to meet the sun ; 

The World is awake, the Smi is aflame, 
O hallowed be God's Holy name. 



Now all is laughter, and light, and love, 
In the Earth beneath and the Heavens above, 
On the rock-bound shore, and the unbound sea, 
But most in my heart — O joy to me ! 

The World is awake, the Sun is aflame, 
O hallowed be God's Holy name. 



85 



EMANCIPATION. 

T3ESIDE the gray, white- crested, lapping sea, 

Where, with its subtle spell of mystery, 
Lay the pale light from waning, crescent moon, 
We stood together; — the low, rippling croon 
Of quiet waves, upon the tranquil shore, 
Made a mysterious music that, forevermore, 
My heart will hold too precious to forget ; 
In the still sky, Venus and Mars had met. 
All silently, by your dear hand's embrace. 
My hands were folded ; I could see your face 
But as a shadowy setting to your eyes, 
Which held me with that strange and sweet surprise 
The spirit knows on threshold of new birth. 
It seemed the varied forces of the earth, 

86 



And all my life, with its unfolding power, 
Had been but prelude to this potent hour. 
With a swift note of vibrating control, 
You called unto my deep-imprisoned soul; 
She rose, with a tense thrill of ecstasy. 
Threw off her long-time shackles, and was free. 



87 



QUATRAINS. 

LOVE. 

TF Love means having, then, — denied, — 

Most Hves must be unsatisfied ; 
If giving — then, no life need be 
Bereft of Love's blest harmony. 

ILLOGICAL PHILANTHROPY. 

''T^HE gracious lord of the Manor gives dole 

To wayfarers passing his stately door; 
But he raises not the burdensome toll 
They must pay at his stream from their scanty store. 

HAPPINESS. 

T AY happiness in circumstance, 

Man were a helpless waif of chance ; 

But since the highest lies within, 

Man's happiness is his to win. 
88 



CONTRASTS. 



89 



A FAIR, young mother bends, and gaily laughs, 
Above a cradle, snowy white, to kiss 
Her smiling babe ; ah ! merrily she quaffs, 
With mute thanksgiving, her new cup of bliss. 

A DARK, chill bier lies in a room apart, 

Covered by the inexorable pall ; 

There, with the sword of sorrow in her heart, 

Another mother drinks her cup of gall. 



91 



L 

Y friend is near me now, so near ; 
Before my yearning eyes he stands, 
And, bending, takes my weary hands. 
I feel his breath upon my cheek, 
I see his face, I hear him speak ; 
But " Oh ! " within my heart I sigh, 
" How many miles between us lie ! " 

11. 

'Y other friend is far away, 

A wanderer in distant lands ; 

He cannot reach to touch my hands, 

He cannot look into my eyes, 

Between us Fate's dark barriers rise; 

And yet, through distance and through space, 

Our souls meet in a close embrace. 
92 



CITY AND COUNTRY. 

FEVERED vortex of o'crcrowded life, 
Men who attain, who fail, who faint, who 
plod, — 
A restless haste, interminable strife, 
And ceaseless din that drowns the voice of God. 

PEACEFUL calm, a buoyant sense of space 
From boundless azure, and broad tranquil 
green. 
The soul, in tune, looks now upon God's face 
With but a veil of flowering bloom between. 



93 



s 



HE sits, with grief too deep for tears, 

Mute, motionless, with parched eyes, dry and 
wild ; 



Breaking the ghastly silence, now she hears 
The blithesome laughter of her happy child. 



94 



A MAN and woman, steeped in ecstasy, 

Murmur, 'mid kisses, " Merciful is fate ! " 



Far off, one — who has set that woman free 
Dies lonely ; and a maid waits, desolate. 



95 



T17RINGING white hands in passionate despair, 

^ ^ For the denied last jewel for her hair, 
A woman lies on her luxurious couch. 



N bitter cold, beside her door, doth crouch 
Another woman, hungry, faint, and pale, 
Stretching wan hands with supphcating wail ; 
Knowing that, save some careless passer-by 
Shall give her bread, her only child may die. 



96 



I. 



'T^HE night is still; a faint perfume, 

From drooping clematis and rose, 
Floats through the dusky folds of gloom 
That hide the earth ; a calm repose, 
A mystic hush, is over all, 
Save where the shadowed waterfall 
Makes murmurous music, there between 
The dolorous pine-trees, all unseen. 



II. 



'T^HE morning breaks, one after one 

The mountains glow, effulgent, red. 
Bright heralds of the coming sun. 
The fresh rose lifts her dewy head ; 

Q7 

7 



A joyous song within its breast, 
The happy lark wakes in the nest ; 
And, pluming buoyant, eager wings, 
To the blue vault up- soars and sings. 



98 



POINT OF VIEW. 



LofC. 



99 



THE SEA. 

TREACHEROUS, fierce, implacable sea! 
That bore my beloved away from me ; 
How hungrily cruel you rise and creep 
To seize vast treasures, and bury them deep, 
Far under your cold-hearted, white-lipped waves, 
Where numberless thousands sleep their last sleep, 
Unshrouded, uncoffined, in grassless graves. 



r\ BOUNTIFUL, kind, beneficent sea ! 

^-"^ That brought my beloved one home to me ; 

How brightly and lightly you laugh and play. 

In the sparkling sun, with your own waves' spray, 

As you bear on your throbbing, mighty breast 

The myriad souls on their homeward way, 

To hearts that wait, and to havens of rest. 



NIGHT. 

T TAST, awful night, how ghostly are thine hours! 
' The cold and unresponsive stars repel; 

Against the dark loom visions of strange powers, 
With ghastly forms, like harbingers of hell ; 
A dense, oppressive silence weights my soul, 
As slowly each black moment doth unroll. 
I shudder here alone, afraid, forlorn, 
O awful night ! and tremble for the morn. 



OTILL, peaceful night, when cares are put away, 
And in the swaying boughs of murmurous 
trees, 
The risen wind, that stirred not through the day, 
Maketh low music, dreamy melodies ; 
I sit beside my Love in rapt content, 
Reading the secrets of the firmament, 
And from the depths of thy great star-strewn calm, 
O wondrous night! I drink a magic balm. 



THE PINES. 

r\ MELANCHOLY, mournful pines, 

^"^^ Sobbing and soughing through your gloom, 

The restless spirit of wild winds 

Sigheth a hopeless wail of doom ; 

I stand and list to ye, all alone. 

And your doleful song is a moan, a moan. 

/^~\ MUSICAL and murmuring pines, 

^-"^ You echo life in every part. 

As low, harmonious, fresh winds 

Sweep singing through your deep-hid heart; 

I stand with my Love, to list to ye, 

And your song is a wondrous symphony. 



103 



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